Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 176: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) in Dublin 6 who has been out of work owing to a debilitating injury since April 2007 has been informed by their local community welfare officer that rent allowance will cease to be payable at the end of December 2007 and that the person concerned has been unable to secure alternative cheaper accommodation with a landlord willing to accept rent allowance; if he will intervene to ensure a more humane consideration of this person's ongoing rent allowance entitlement as regulation of the supplementary welfare scheme is a matter for his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33070/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The supplementary allowance (SWA) scheme, including rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may incur. These limits take household size into account as the objective is to ensure that rent supplement is not paid in respect of overly expensive accommodation.

The Executive has advised that it became aware that the rent payable by the person concerned was in excess of the prescribed limits for a person in his circumstances following a change in household arrangements. The Executive had advised that rent supplement in excess of the maximum limits applicable to the circumstances of this case, was being paid as an exceptional measure for an eight week period from 1st November 2007. This 8 week period was granted in order to allow the person concerned time to secure alternative accommodation or to make arrangements that would result in their rent falling within the prescribed limits. A further extension of rent supplement to the 19 January 2008 has now been granted by the Executive.

It is open to the person concerned to contact the Community Welfare Officer at his local health centre to discuss his entitlement to rent supplement. It is also open to him to lodge an appeal against the decision on rent supplement to the Executive's designated Appeals Officer.